Hi there and hello!! My hubby and I are bringing home our baby very soon (Jan) and I have been searching all over for some sort of guide on how show huskies are evaluated as a pup for breed confirmation. We will meet the litter at 8 weeks, and might be 9 weeks, as our breeder likes to do her final evaluations for her own choice at this time. Now, she is an excellent breeder, and I am sure she will help us in choosing our show pup and answer all our questions, BUT, I want to be somewhat prepared before we get there. I am a Golden Mom, so Sibes are new to me.

So far, I have found nothing, except the AKC breed standard, which doesn't help me much. We do plan on showing our girl, and hope we do well. The breeder supports us in this, and said she would help all she can as well. Like I said, just want to me more informed before we get there. Any points in the right direction would really be appreciated!!

Also, just one more quick question.....we do agility, and ob with the goldens, but never done confirmation before....what is a 'Major' or can you please explain the point system ?? Thanks a bunch!

I have one more question....how can you tell what the pups will look like in the face as adults??? Their mask can change, correct???

Welcome to the forum! To become a champion you need to earn 15 points and have at least 2 majors. At each show you can earn anywhere from 0 to 5 points. The number of points you can earn depends on your region and how many dogs were entered in your breed and what gender they are. It also changes from year to year to make it even more confusing! lol. AKC puts out a point schedule that you can find here: http://www.akc.org/events/conformation/point_schedule.cfm

A major is any show where you can earn 3 to 5 points.

This link should help with selecting a puppy: http://www.kossok.com/kossok/Selecting_Showdog.html

You may like this too:
http://www.kossok.com/kossok/Introduction.html

And the illustrated standard:
http://www.shca.org/pdfs-docs/1999_IS.pdf

What state are you in? I would love to see fellow IAHT members at some shows!

Also remember to trust your breeder. If you found a good one, they've been doing it for a while and pretty much know what their puppies are going to turn out as. I was amazed when Elara grew up and her breeders comments were spot on about what was going to be good and bad about her.

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You can tell a little about what their heads will look like compared to their siblings. Like Elara's litter had "big" heads and "small" heads, but they do change a lot and masks and coat color changes a lot too as they grow. I'll find a picutre of my girls growning up.

Sara, Thank you! That is awesome. Would love to see pics of your girl. We are in Indiana.

Thanks, again for the info and the links!

8 weeks




6 months old (she was going through an awkward phase


1.5yrs old




Almost 2yrs old

Sara, what kind of lead are you using for the initial training and such to keep her in place?

Sara, she's so pretty! Thanks for posting the age progression. (and seeing win pictures from shows I used to attend way way way back in the day makes me all nostalgic. lol)

dragonthewhitedread wrote:

Sara, what kind of lead are you using for the initial training and such to keep her in place?

I pretty much always use a thin nylon lead with a thin metal choke chain. I use that, cause I have my mom's old hand me downs from when she used to show dogs. Oh and I was lucky to get that stacked puppy picture of her. We took a ton, but she was such a wiggle butt, we only got one good one!

SARA:
What a gorgeous girl!!!!!! Thanks for the pictures.

Elara is a sweetie.

May I ask where your pup is coming from, and have you considered talking to the breeder about mentoring? I have learned so many things from my mentor (I didn't even get my pup from her). There are all kinds of Facebook groups about showing, handling and breeding and you should check those out. In fact, you will see many familiar faces from this group.

I use a black nylon choke and lead....we use the chain but it was pulling out his fur.

I completely agree with Megan, ask the breeder to mentor you! I have learned a ton from both of the breeders I have purchased from and continue to expand my mentor base as I expand into working as well as showing my dogs. There are so many people with years of experience and knowledge and finding the right ones to mentor you is important

When I show Denali I use a black/white leather braided lead with a silver snake chain. My red girl will be getting a tan/light tan braided lead with a gold snake chain.

Thanks! I am sure she will be more than willing to help us!